Do You Want to Know A Secret?
by Campbell93
Summary: James reached out a hand, gently taking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers stroke her cheek slightly. Lily shivered at his touch. James began to lean down, close the distance. "FOUND IT!" Sirius exclaimed.


**A/N: I wrote this as a sort of sequel to Rounds, but it can also be read as a stand alone one-shot. Please review! (as always don't own anything)**

* * *

"Come on, Lily. It's time to go" James said, hoisting himself up and away from the comfy sofa he had been lazing on.

"I don't wanna" Lily replied, folding her arms and pouting resembling a five year old at the start of a tantrum.

"But you're Head Girl" James tried to reason.

"And you're Head Boy" Lily countered.

"And I can't do it alone" he said, holding out his hand to help her up.

"He's got a point" Sirius said, not looking up from the cards he was holding.

"He'd probably end up blowing up the castle" Remus joined in.

"And it is the last one before Christmas; think of all the people breaking the rules" Peter said with a grin.

"I'll let you finish early" James bribed her.

"Urgh, fine" Lily said, putting her hand in James' allowing him to pull her to her feet. "We'll see you guys later. Sirius, you'd better save me a Butterbeer or I'll give you a detention"

"Noted" Sirius said, giving her a military salute.

* * *

"Why so keen to patrol tonight?" James asked as he was following Lily's usual erratic way of patrolling the corridors.

"We're going home for Christmas tomorrow" Lily stated. James raised his eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes. "Are you really telling me you wouldn't rather be playing cards and drinking Butterbeer right now?"

"Touché"

"Besides, there's not going to be anyone out here. They'll all be in their common rooms doing exactly that; not sneaking out. They've got the entire Christmas holidays with relaxed rules for that"

James laughed. "I don't think I've ever seen you so enthusiastic to carry out your duty as Head Girl" Lily glared and hit James arm. "Ow! Damn it woman!" Lily smirked at him.

"You wuss"

"So where to next?" James asked, still rubbing his arm where she had hit him.

"Trophy room" she stated, "race you". James stared after her as she ran for only a second. Just as he had been a year ago, he was entranced with the way her hair and skirt moved in time with each other. But he couldn't let his pride take a beating if she won so he willed his legs to move. It didn't take long for him to catch up with her and only a second after that for him to overtake her.

Lily watched as he ran past her, laughing.

"Cheat!" she called after him even though she knew he was just more athletic than she was. She knew he left their dorm every morning at six to run around the castle grounds, whereas she preferred to stay in bed and try to sleep. In truth, she was normally awake when he was, he just didn't know that- she thought it would just be a bit weird to bring up after three months. 'Oh hey James, how's that running going? You know I used to be annoyed that it woke me up but now it's just my routine'. Exactly. Creepy.

She had to admit that she liked having him as her friend. It felt strange to think of the fact that had used to dislike him so much. He made her laugh and could always cheer her up if she was feeling stressed or unhappy and he always seemed to know exactly what the right thing to say was. Occasionally, if class was particularly boring, Lily found herself wondering what it would be like to accept one of James' proposals for a date. Yes, he had not stopped. No, it wasn't awkward anymore. It had just developed into part of their friendship- if that's even possible. Occasionally he would drop the question into the conversation with a wink and she would carry on as if she hadn't heard (but she might throw him the odd smile now and then).

OK FINE! Lily didn't occasionally think about what it would be like if she and James were a couple. She thought about it almost every time she saw him. Her heart beat a little faster every time she head 'go out with me, Evans' and she only didn't answer him because she couldn't trust her voice not to break. It was awful and wonderful at the same time. It had taken so long for the two of them to get to this stage of friendship and she didn't want to ruin it. Oldest cliché in the book which people use when they're not interested. But Lily was interested. Merlin, sometimes she just wanted to yell it at him and kiss him. Sometimes she wanted to be brave enough, like one of the women in novels, and say something like 'do you want to know a secret?' and then tell him how she felt. Sometimes she wanted to be even braver and say 'so you want to know a secret?' and then kiss him. Sometimes she was a split second away from doing just that. But she would always have that inkling of self doubt in the back of her mind telling her that James didn't actually like her; that she had missed her chance. It always won.

"You lost. Go out with me, Evans" James said as she rounded the corner and found him leaning against the doorframe to the Trophy Room. Lily rolled her eyes; the corners of her mouth twitching up as she strolled into the room and inspected it.

When she could trust herself to speak again she said "I told you no one would be out tonight"

"Then I guess we can check the rest of the castle super quickly and then you can get your hands on that drink" James said, pushing himself away from the doorframe. "Dungeons?"

"Expecting to run into some Slytherins? Looking for a fight?" Lily asked, looking up at him. James shrugged, not answering. "Well I hate to break it to you, but they tend to avoid me like the plague nowadays"

"You know I think that could be my favourite memory of you" James said thoughtfully.

"What? Pinned up against a wall, defenceless?"

"I prefer to think of it as beating the shit out of Mulciber"

"I wouldn't exactly call it that. I just punched him"

"And kneed him in the gonads"

"He deserved it" Lily said, narrowing her eyes at the slight accusation in James' voice

"No one's arguing with that" James said, holding up his hands in surrender before the argument could even begin. "I just said it was one of my favourite memories of you" he said seriously, then to lighten the tone "I like a girl who can stand up for themselves" and he gave Lily a wink.

Lily tried to hold back her blush but failed and hoped that it was dark enough so he couldn't see.

James did see. He refused to think too much into it though. She was probably just hot or something. He would not get his hopes up. He and Lily were friends and that was more than he could have dreamed of even last year. He wouldn't do anything to jeopardise that. Yes he still asked her out, but that was just almost a tradition. He knew the answer by now after all these years but he still loved it when he saw her trying to resist a smile. That was why he still asked her. Not because he hoped that one day she would say yes, but because it made her smile. Merlin he was getting soppy these days.

"Bingo" Lily said walking over to one of the 'empty' Transfiguration classrooms.

"Count of three?" James asked, placing his hand on the doorknob.

"One"

"Two"

"Three" they both said at the same time, James wrenching open the door, surprising the couple inside. They looked at the two Heads resembling deer caught in headlights. Lily could hear James snickering beside her.

"Come on. Back to your dorms" Lily said, not meaning to yawn as she spoke, but she wasn't really interested in other people's romantic lives when hers was so confusing.

"Aren't you…" the boy in front of them asked, but he was evidently still so surprised at being caught that he couldn't speak.

"Give you a detention?" James asked him and he nodded. "I was thinking along the same lines" and he turned to Lily, looking at her expectantly.

Lily met his gaze and sighed. "It's Christmas" she stated simply. "I'm not giving you a detention for when you get back, it would be pointless and no one would remember. Just…I don't know…control your hormones"

After the couple had scurried away James spoke up.

"You know I don't think I've ever seen a Head Girl who cares as little as you. What's up?"

Lily shrugged. "I guess I don't really want to go home for Christmas…or maybe I just have a lot on my mind. Do I really need a reason?"

"When it's you? Yes. What's so bad at home? You love Christmas"

"How do you know that?" Lily asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Oh please, you put tinsel in your hair every year and walk around humming Christmas songs. Normally on the last day you're a bubble of excitement"

"I still love Christmas!" Lily protested. "I'm just not a fan of the company this year"

"Explain" James said

"Sister's boyfriend, or should I say fiancée" Lily grumbled.

"He's still on the scene?" James asked, surprised. Lily had told James about Vernon before during their rounds and let's just say he had hardly been impressed by her sister's stellar choice in men. "And did you say Fiancée?"

"Unfortunately. As of a month ago. We have to spend Christmas at his family's home now and his sister is just as bad as he is. I swear I will kill something and I can't even use magic to do it!"

"Wait, hold up Evans. You're telling me your sister still hasn't told him you are a witch?"

"Who knows? It's not like me and Petunia ever write to each other. He may know but she probably can't be bothered to tell him and I'll have to pretend I go some fake boarding school" then Lily sighed. "Sorry I'm such foul company tonight"

"You know what?" James asked, putting his arm around Lily's shoulders and turning her around so they could walk towards the stair case. "This patrol is dead. There's no point walking around the rest of this castle, let's go get you that Butterbeer"

"What about those pesky rule breakers?" Lily asked a hint of a smile on her face.

"We'll just be giving them a Christmas present. Now back to more pressing matters: would you rather have a head made of toffee or feet made of bread?"

"What planet are you living on?" Lily asked, laughing, amazed at how James could change her mood with a simple question.

"You can't answer a question with a question"

"Hmm" Lily considered. "I think I would have to go for the bread feet because I could cover them up with my shoes but everyone would see my toffee head and I would get things stuck to it"

"Well reasoned" James said with a grin and their questioning continued back to the dorm.

* * *

They were the only people left in the common room. Everyone else had gone to bed or were chatting in their dorms, too excited about going home tomorrow. But in true style Lily, Marlene, Sirius, Remus, Peter and James were all sat on the floor, nursing bottles of Butterbeer. Well at the moment, Sirius was absent having gone to search for something in his dorm.

Marlene looked at her watch. "Merlin, it's getting late. What time is the train tomorrow?"

"Eleven" Lily said absently. She was sitting next to James and the two of them were leaning against the sofa. Occasionally, their arms would brush against each other as one of them sipped their drinks. She was hyper aware of his every movement. The Butterbeer had made her sleepy and she wanted nothing more than to rest her head on his shoulder and close her eyes. Just for a little while. Just to see what it would be like.

"And how long were you guys planning to stay up for?" Marlene asked the group.

"Normally we're up until about one thirty at the end of term" James replied. Lily loved the sound of his voice.

"Mental" Marlene replied. If there was one thing that people knew about Marlene it was that she liked her sleep (and her food). If you denied her one of these things, it would not end well for you. "I'm going to bed" she said standing up and looking at Lily expectantly.

"I think I'm going to stay down here for a bit longer, Marley" Lily said, although her voice came out sleepy.

Marlene raised her eyebrows but let it slide. "Alright. But I'm warning you now; I will sit on you in the morning to wake you up"

"Deal" Lily said with a grin.

"I think I'm going to go up too" said Remus with a yawn.

"Alright mate" James said giving the two of them a small wave as they headed up the respective staircase.

"Night" Lily called out to them.

"So, not tired then?" James whispered to Lily as she yawned.

"Don't want to sleep" she answered as she arched her back against the sofa, stretching. James tried his hardest not to stare so directed his gaze into the fire instead. "At least I'm not practically dead to the world" she said motioning to Peter who looked as though he was about collapse on the floor. James chuckled as his friend tried his hardest to stay awake.

"Oi Pete!" he said, throwing a cushion in that direction. "You should probably go to bed, mate"

"Mmm?" Peter murmured, them "hmmm" and he heaved himself up and stumbled towards the staircase.

There was a short silence between Lily and James, neither of them knowing quite what to say. The atmosphere had switched between them. Perhaps the Butterbeer had given Lily some extra confidence to think what she really wanted to do. Perhaps James just wanted to tell her that just being friends wasn't enough for him; not really. Both of them were too involved in their thoughts about what might happen if they acted right now that neither of them actually thought to act.

"So…we're alone I guess" James muttered, running his hand awkwardly through his hair. Merlin, he didn't think things had ever been this awkward with Lily before.

"So it would seem" Lily whispered in reply, blushing for some reason unknown to her.

_Screw it_, Lily thought_. It's now or never, if he says no then we have Christmas apart._ She shifted her position so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. James jumped slightly when Lily first touched him, not expecting her to make that move, but he liked it. In return he put an arm on the sofa, almost around her, so that it was more comfortable for her. Lily smiled, her confidence growing by the second.

"Do you want to know a secret?" she asked him quietly, turning her head to look at him. Their faces were so close. If James moved just an inch he could kiss her. Lily moved her head a little closer to him, not quite confident enough to completely close the distance; she would leave part of it up to James. James was shocked by what was happening. It was like this was all a dream. This couldn't really be happening. Lily had never seemed to show any interest in him like this. But yet…here she was, so close he could feel her warm breath tickling his cheek, her bright green eyes looking into his expectantly. James reached out a hand, gently taking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers stroke her cheek slightly. Lily shivered at his touch, the corners of her mouth twitching up. James began to lean down, close the distance, painfully slowly. Lily's eyes fluttered shut.

"FOUND IT!" Sirius exclaimed running back into the common room, not noticing the position Lily and James were in, or the fact that they had leaped apart and Lily was now blushing furiously. James glared at his friend, feeling a sudden urge to hit something. Sirius flopped down on the cushion he had previously been residing in while Lily tried to make the distance between her and James larger.

"Hey! Where'd everyone go?" Sirius asked looking around at the empty spaces.

"Bed" James said, annoyance filling his voice. "It is pretty late, Padfoot"

"Yeah…but…Firewhiskey" Sirius replied, brandishing the bottle and looking between Lily and James. "Wait, why are you two-" he began sceptically.

"Give me that" Lily interrupted, grabbing the bottle from Sirius, swiftly opening it and downing a large gulp.

"Merlin woman! Don't drink it all" Sirius practically screeched, leaping up and snatching the bottle back from her. Lily started to cough as the bottle was yanked away from her lips. James instinctively patted her on the back before he realised that he was touching her and immediately stopped, his hand going back to his hair. "Now it's time to learn how to share" Sirius said, taking a swig and passing the bottle to James who also gulped it down in an attempt to vanish any feeling of embarrassment.

"What now?" James asked passing the bottle once again to Lily who made a show of making sure their hands didn't touch.

"Well I was going to suggest a game of Truth or Dare but the others seemed to have put an end to that idea" Sirius said glumly.

"We could still play" Lily said to Sirius while passing him back the bottle.

"Such a simple minded girl" Sirius replied patronisingly. "It'd be boring as hell with the three of us. James would never pick dare when it's just me and I already know everything about him and vice versa. There's a limit to the amount of things we can get you to do"

"Fair point" Lily conceded. "So what exactly are we going to do?"

"Sit here and drown our sorrows of being bored at twelve thirty in the morning" James said, raising the bottle to Lily and Sirius in turn.

"Well said, Prongs" Sirius said giving James a salute.

* * *

When the bottle was nearly empty and the time had flown by, Lily thought this would be a wonderful time to start some Karaoke. Leaping up on the sofa she began to sing one of her favourite songs.

"I THOUGHT LOVE WAS ONLY TRUE IN FAIRY TALES

MEANT FOR SOMEONE ELSE BUT NOT FOR ME

LOVE WAS OUT TO GET ME

THAT'S THE WAY IT SEEMED

DISAPPOINTMENT HAUNTED ALL MY DREAMS" She sang, dancing, completely oblivious to James watching her every move in awe as she twisted her hips and flicked her hair. Sirius was covering his ears and groaning.

"Prongs! Make her stop! I can't take any more!" he half shouted over Lily's voice

"THEN I SAW HER FACE, NOW I'M A BELIEVER

NOT A TRACE OF DOUBT IN MY MIND

I'M IN LOVE! I'M A BELIEVER!

I COULDN'T LEAVE HER IF I TRIED"

"Please Prongs!" Sirius begged, down on his knees and grasping James' leg. James laughed at his friend.

"No chance. I'm enjoying this" he replied with a huge grin on his face. He had never seen Lily be so free. She laughed when she heard what James had said, meeting his eyes for a second and flashing him a smile before throwing her arms up in the air and starting on the second verse.

"NOOOO!" Sirius cried and ran from the common room as James leaped up on the sofa and joined Lily in the dancing. Neither of them noticed that Sirius had left them, both of them lost in their own world. Lily swung her arms around James' neck and began to dance with him. James didn't know what to do with his hands until Lily laughed and grabbed hold of them, forcefully placing them against her hips as she danced. This action gave both of them assurance in their actions and they began to dance closer to each other. Lily had stopped singing; there was no longer any sound but they continued to dance, getting closer and closer until almost every inch of them was touching.

"So about that secret…" Lily whispered in James' ear. James pulled his head back to look at her, but he did so a bit too fast. Given the alcohol in both of their systems they both went toppling backwards onto the sofa, Lily falling directly on top of James, her arms still around his neck. They both burst into hysterics as anyone would have done, but then their eyes locked and suddenly the situation wasn't that funny anymore; the laughter dying on their lips. Their noses were almost touching and Lily could smell the Firewhiskey on James breath. Her hair was tickling his face but he daren't move.

"What was that secret?" James said although when he heard himself say it out loud he wasn't sure if anyone would be able to make sense of it. It had come out like a cross between a mumble and a whisper, the words slurring into one.

Lily's eyes flickered down from his eyes to his lips. She bit her bottom lip nervously.

"I never really hated you" she whispered quickly and then suddenly she was kissing him.

Her lips were gone as quickly as they had touched his. Lily had put her hands on James chest and pushed herself upwards slightly.

"I'm sorry" she said cringing. "I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have-" she stopped talking as James lifted one of his hands and ran it through her hair, placing it over her other shoulder. He rested the palm of his hand against her cheek, gently stroking it with his thumb.

"You should have. You absolutely should have" he said gently and lifted his head. This time he instigated the kiss. Lily responded with such force that she was practically crushing James against the sofa, yet his hand was on the back of her head, cradling her closer.

If this was a dream, this was the best dream James had ever had. Lily was kissing him as though her life depended on it, their mouths moving furiously against each other. James was setting Lily's whole body on fire. One of his hands was in her hair the other on the small of her back where her shirt had risen up exposing her skin. She ran her tongue along James' bottom lip and he obligingly opened his mouth. She let out a small moan as their tongues met. She began to undo buttons on his shirt, tracing the muscles in his chest.

James let out almost a growl as Lily bit James bottom lip playfully before placing butterfly kisses along his jaw before moving down his neck. James couldn't take it anymore. She let out a small shriek as James flipped them over where he promptly let her have a taste of her own medicine.

"James" she moaned. Her moan was louder than before as James nicked her neck, just above her collar bone, with his teeth. Lily grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled him back up to her lips, she could feel him smiling as they kissed; more urgently than before. Lily hooked her legs around James hips; he wondered if she had any idea what she was doing to him.

One of the doors from the dormitories slammed shut. James felt Lily freeze underneath him.

"Shit" he said as they heard footsteps walking down the girl's staircase. Lily looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Hide" he whispered to her. It wouldn't exactly be wise for the Head Boy and Head Girl to be caught in such a…compromising position.

"Where?" Lily hissed at him looking around the room. She was right. There was no where big enough to hide a person.

"Shit" James said again. The person was nearly in the common room when James got the invisibility cloak out his pocket and swung it over both of them. It wasn't large enough to cover both of them completely, and he hoped that it was dark enough that whoever it was wouldn't notice his shoes on the sofa. Both of them held their breath as the girl entered the common room, walked over to one of the tables, picked something up and made their way back up the staircase.

Lily let out a sigh of relief and James pushed himself up into a sitting position, running a hand through his hair again, also letting out a shaky breath. It had just been a third year who had forgotten to pack one of their books. That was all.

"We should, ummm…." He said, not able to finish the sentence. Lily looked at him, blinking. Did…did he not want her anymore? Was this just a one time thing?

"Yeah…we should go to bed" Lily finished for him. Neither of them said anything for a second. Lily stood up and pulled down her skirt. It was then she noticed that her shirt was undone and she was essentially just shoving her bra in James' face. She blushed a bright crimson as she did it back up again, not caring that the buttons were in the wrong holes.

James watched her blush as she stood awkwardly in front of him, fiddling with her shirt.

"I'll…ummm….I'll see you tomorrow" she muttered and practically ran for the staircase.

James continued to stare at the staircase for a while after he heard her door close. He shouldn't have let her leave. He should have kissed her again. But it wasn't the worst thing in the world. He would see her again tomorrow. He would get up early and join her at breakfast. He would ask her to go for a walk before the train. He would kiss her again. A smile grew across his face and he finally managed to take himself to bed; for once his dreams didn't match up to the reality.

* * *

"Oi! Will you just wake up already!" Marlene said, as promised, sitting on Lily. It had just gone eight in the morning. Normally they would have been up at seven but they were both already packed and Marlene had already showered. All that was left was to get Lily up and down to breakfast. Easier said than done.

Lily tried to roll over, muttering something about it being too early, but found she couldn't due to the weight of another person sitting right on top of her. Unfortunately, this pressure wasn't as pleasant as it had been last night. Wait, last night…shit! Lily's eyes flew open and she sat up fast.

"OW!" she groaned as her head made contact with Marlene's shoulder.

"Bloody hell! Some warning would have been nice" Marlene said, getting off Lily and looking at her sceptically. "Wait, why are you up?"

"Because you woke me up" Lily said, pushing the covers off her and stepping out of bed, still clutching her head.

"Yeah, I do that every day. Not once have I had that reaction. What happened?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just looking forward to the holidays"

"Liar"

"Hmmm" Lily said, grabbing some clothes and dashing into the bathroom. She jumped in the shower, letting the warm water soothe her. Did that really happen last night? Did she really kiss James? Did he really kiss her back? Would they have stopped if they hadn't been interrupted? There had been an awful lot of Firewhiskey involved and had she been singing at some point? She remembered an awful lot of dancing….and kissing. Oh Merlin. What if James didn't remember?

Lily hurriedly dried herself and got dressed and rushed out of the bathroom. She placed her pyjamas in her trunk, locked it and ran out the door yelling "see you at breakfast!" to Marlene who looked stunned at the whole scene.

James was sitting at the Gryffindor table alone. Lily was normally down at breakfast by seven thirty but it was ten past eight and she hadn't appeared. Maybe she was hung over? She did drink an awful lot last night. Or maybe she just didn't want to face him. James pushed his scrambled eggs around his plate, wishing he hadn't bothered to get up this morning.

"Hi" he heard Lily say as she slid into the seat opposite James. He looked up in surprise, not having seen her enter the Great Hall.

"You're late this morning" he stated. Lily grabbed a slice of toast and poured herself some pumpkin juice.

"Uh huh" she said around her food. "Marlene doesn't get me up on the last day of term until eight" she shrugged.

"Well that explains it then. I've been here since seven thirty" James said, finally finding himself able to eat. "I thought you were hungover"

Lily peeked up at James and smiled "I guess I can hold my drink pretty well" she said.

James laughed, loving how the two of them had fallen back into the easy conversation. Well until Lily stopped smiling and grew serious.

"Listen James, about last night-" she began, but James would never know how she was going to finish that sentence as Marlene sat down next to Lily.

"Merlin woman! What is up with you this morning? It's like you've had ten cups of coffee or something" she said rolling her eyes. "Oh, morning James" she said noticing he was sitting opposite Lily.

"OI! PRONGS! Why the bloody hell are you awake?" Sirius said, whacking his best friend on the back and sitting down. Remus rolled his eyes but said nothing taking a seat the other side of James.

James cringed at the arrival of his friends and tried to convey an apology to Lily with a look but she was looking down at her plate, her hair covering her face in an attempt to hide her blush.

"Now Lilyflower" Sirius said to Lily who cautiously looked up. "I'm afraid I have to ask you, for all our sanity's sake, not to start singing over breakfast". Lily had been terrified that he would ask what happened after he had gone to bed. She was so relieved that she started laughing.

"No need to worry about that. Unless you've spiked my pumpkin juice" she told Sirius.

"Hold on! There was Firewhiskey last night?" Marlene asked and Lily nodded.

"Just after you'd gone to bed" Lily told her.

"You guys!" Marlene whined "I could have told you that Firewhiskey makes Lily sing!"

"And dance if I remember correctly"

Lily blushed. "You do"

"At least you dance better than you sing" Sirius replied and suddenly the conversation turned into an animated discussion about Lily's dancing skills. James remained silent throughout this conversation; not wanting to put his foot in it. Lily however was highly involved in the conversation but only so she could make sure she was steering it away from James and herself.

"It's not my fault I've got some sweet moves" Lily said jokingly "it's just what happens when you're forced to go to dance class for a month"

"Oh please, I had to go for a year!" Sirius said "With my cousins!"

"Ok, OK" Lily said, laughing and holding up her hands. "You win"

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt" said a girl standing behind Remus. She had short brown hair and large blue eyes and all Lily could think was that she was very pretty. She must have been a few years below them because she didn't recognise her.

James recognised the voice and turned around, smiling at her. "Hey!" he greeted cheerily. "Not to worry, we were just talking about the torture that was childhood dance lessons"

"Oh Merlin" the girl replied, grinning. "Make sure you take the piss out of this one then" and she pointed to James. "The first time we were forced to dance I came away with bruises all over my feet and a swollen toe! Thankfully he's improved" everyone around the table laughed except for Lily. A small crease formed above her eyebrows as she frowned at the girl, her head cocked to one side slightly as she re-evaluated the situation. James was awfully friendly with her. The girl had one hand on James' arm in a very friendly manner. Lily did not like where this was going.

"Yeah, thanks for that" James said sarcastically "I'm sure they'll let that one slide"

"You win some, you lose some" the girl said with a grin. "Anyway, I wasn't sure if I would catch you on the train what with you having to patrol and everything" she said with a roll of her eyes, "so I thought I'd better give you this now. I don't think my owl could take the weight if I was to send it to you" and she held out a package to James. It was obviously a Christmas present.

"Yeah, but that's because you're owl is a midget!" James said grinning. "My owl, however, is far superior and will be able to carry your present to you"

The girl rolled her eyes again. "We are not getting into this fight again. Just don't open it until Christmas" then she looked up at the rest of the table. "I'll let you get back to mocking James about his dancing then. Have a good Christmas!" she turned to walk away, but James grabbed her arm.

"Oi!" he said, pulling her down to the bench and he kissed her cheek. "I'll see you soon" he said and let go of her arm.

"We all know you just can't get enough James" the girl replied swiftly and with a wave walked off towards the Ravenclaw table.

Did he just…? No, he couldn't have. Surely not. But he did. Lily had seen it with her own eyes. Who was she? His Girlfriend? Sneaky bastard. Kissing her like that last night but having a girlfriend? Lily could feel that her temper was about to get the better of her.

"You know, I just don't get why she likes you more than me, Prongs. I am clearly the better looking one" Sirius said and James laughed. That was the final straw. Lily pressed her lips together tightly, her nostrils flaring slightly, in a swift movement she stood up and walked away from the table.

"Lily!" Marlene called after her. "What the bloody hell is up with that girl today?" she said to everyone else at the table. James watched as Lily walked down the aisle between the tables, heading straight for the door, frowning. He noticed that her fists were clenched tightly and pressed against her sides. He'd had enough experience with an angry Lily Evans to know just how angry she was, even if the reason was unknown to him.

"Shit!" He swore loudly and jumped up from the table, starting to jog after her. This drew the gaze of a few people in the Great Hall, who started to watch the scene eagerly. After all, it had been a long time since James and Lily had had one of their famous fights in the school corridors.

"Do you guys have any idea what that is about?" Remus asked, looking after James and Lily

"Absolutely none" Marlene said "What happened after I went to bed last night?" Remus shrugged saying that he had also gone to bed.

"Well, we broke out the Firewhiskey, Lily started to sing and dance and then James started to dance with her and…" Sirius eyes grew wide, events starting to click in his mind.

"Are you saying…" Marlene started.

"…something happened between…" Remus finished and Sirius nodded slowly, still in shock.

"Then what the bloody hell are we waiting for?" Marlene practically cried, standing up and running after James and Lily, quickly followed by Sirius and Remus.

* * *

"Lily! LILY! EVANS! James called after Lily but she made no signs of stopping on her way back up to Gryffindor tower. She had made it onto the staircase and was charging up it. James started to run up them two steps at a time until he was able to reach out and grab her hand. "Lily, stop, please" and Lily did as was requested. She turned around and James could see just how furious she actually was. Her eyes flickered down to their hands and then back up to James' face.

"Hands" she said in a way that made it clear it would be wise for James to let go now, but he didn't.

"Listen, Lily, I can explain" he half pleaded. Neither of them noticed the large crowds that were gathering around the staircase.

"There's no need to explain" Lily said wrenching her hand out of his and folding her arms, looking down on him angrily. "You've made it perfectly clear that last night was a mistake"

"What? How?" James spluttered.

"I saw you at breakfast cringing at any mention of last night!" Lily fumed, her voice starting to get louder, "and you jumped at the chance to get rid of me after that third year interrupted us! It doesn't take a genius to figure out you wish it hadn't happened! Well guess what, Potter? You've got your way. You can go back to your little girlfriend now"

"Girlfriend? What girlfriend?" James asked, too surprised at her last sentence to deny the first part.

"Petite, brown hair, blue eyes, just kissed you. Ringing any bells?" Lily said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"She's not my girlfriend!" James said, throwing his hands up in the air out of frustration. "Merlin, you're stupid" he said without thinking. Unfortunately for him, Lily had a problem of selective hearing during fights and the only thing her brain focused on was 'stupid'.

"Yeah, that's right" Lily yelled "Stupid enough to like you! Stupid enough to kiss you! Stupid enough to think that it might be going somewhere. Silly me!"

"You know that's not what I meant!" James yelled back

Lily stepped down so she was only a single stair higher than James.

"It's becoming rather difficult to know what you mean, Potter" she said in a low voice. "When you figure out what you want, perhaps you could let me know. In the mean time, I would refrain from kissing girls you don't actually like"

"YOU WERE THE ONE WHO KISSED ME!" James shouted. If the two of them were lacking anyone's attention, they had it now.

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO KISS ME BACK" Lily screamed. Once again, they found that their faces were inches apart. The entire fight could have been solved if Lily were lower her head or James was to reach up a little higher but they were both too stubborn to give themselves what they wanted. "You know what, Potter. I hope you have a great Christmas" and Lily turned on her heel, climbed the few remaining steps and stormed towards the Gryffindor common room.

James ran a hand through his hair, thoroughly irritated that he had even bothered to get up that morning. It was then that he noticed what seemed like the entire student body gathered around him and the stairs.

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?" he yelled at them before walking down the stairs, shoving past a group of fourth years on his way to the Entrance Hall.

"Ok, were any of you guys expecting that?" Remus asked confused after watching the showdown. They each shook their heads.

"I knew it was going to happen at some point but…I didn't think they were there yet. I didn't know Lily was there yet" Marlene said in a voice which was a strange cross between disappointment and excitement.

"Remus?" Sirius asked and Remus looked at his friend. "Are you going to allow us to meddle this time?" his voice was hopeful.

"I don't think we've got another option, Padfoot" Remus said with a sigh.

"Excellent. You go to Lily" he said pointing at Remus before gesturing at himself and Marlene "and we'll go to James"

"Right, and just what are we going to do?" Marlene asked sceptically.

"I don't know. Make it up as we go along?"

"Wow, that is truly great planning there" she said with a roll of her eyes.

"We'll meet on the train" Remus said, taking charge. "If we can't get them to be civil by then, I propose we lock them in the prefect's carriage. We should also fill Wormtail in on this plan"

"Genius" Sirius and Marlene said at the same time. "See you in two hours then" and they split off.

* * *

"Lily! Lily will you please calm down" Remus said in a calming voice. Lily was currently throwing books across the common room.

"NO!" she yelled, dodging as one of the books rebounded off the mantel and came flying back in her direction.

"So you don't want to talk about what just happened? About what the entire school just witnessed?"

"NO!" she yelled again, choosing _A History of Magic_ as her next victim.

"Ok" Remus said simply and sat down on one of the chairs in the books flight path. He started to inspect his fingernails as if to say that he didn't really care.

"Why did he do it, Remus? Why in Merlin's name did he do it?" she asked furiously, only lowering her voice a tiny amount.

"Do what? You're really going to have to fill me in on some stuff" Remus said to her.

"KISS ME!" she practically screamed again, but then she seemed to deflate and she slid into a chair opposite Remus. "Kiss me back" she said quietly. "He didn't have to. He could have pushed me away; told me no. He should have done if he had a girlfriend"

"Are we talking about James here? Do you really think he would have pushed you away given the fact that he's been in love with you for at least the last two years?"

Lily seemed to think about it and then slowly shook her head. "That doesn't make it right" she mumbled. "If he is so in love with me then why does he even have a girlfriend in the first place?"

"You keep saying 'girlfriend' and I don't understand" Remus told her honestly.

"That girl he was with this morning. He didn't deny it when I confronted him about it!" Lily said, not meaning for it to come out as harshly as it did.

"James doesn't have a girlfriend" Remus said, almost laughing "or if he does he's managed to keep it a very well hidden secret"

"If she wasn't his girlfriend then who was she?" Lily said folding her arms.

"I'm sure you could find out if you spoke to him" Remus said with a shrug.

"No" Lily said stubbornly. "If he wants to make excuses he can come and talk to me"

* * *

"Ok, I get this is all manly bonding time but really? We've got half an hour before we have to be on the train! Can you please put the Quaffle down?" Marlene practically begged them. James and Sirius hadn't said a word since they had found James on the Quiddtich pitch. Well Sirius suggested tossing the Quaffle and look where that had gotten them.

"But we're having fun" Sirius protested and James scoffed. James also made the mistake of throwing the Quaffle to Marlene who caught it, put it back into the box and vanished it back into the Quidditch Supplies Shed. "What was that for?" Sirius demanded.

"We came here to talk to James, not help him avoid the issue" Marlene snapped at Sirius (it seems that the bad mood was catching). "Talk and walk" she demanded of James as the three of them started to head back up to the castle to gather their things.

"What do you want me to say?" James said kicking the ground as he walked.

"What happened last night would be a good place to start" Sirius laughed.

"She kissed me" James said with a sigh "and then I kissed her and then…urgh who even knows anymore!"

"Ok, so then why are you fighting?" Marlene prompted.

"You think I know that? She got all angry this morning at Breakfast! She said something about wanting to talk about last night and then you turned up and she went quiet and then Dorcas came over and started talking and then Lily stormed out and yelled at me for some non existent girlfriend and then says I never should have kissed her back!"

"Oh this is bad" Marlene said, having plenty of experience with a stubborn, angry Lily who had an idea in her head. "I don't suppose you would be willing to sit down and calmly discuss this with her?"

"No! I didn't bloody well do anything wrong! She can talk to me if she even cares at all!"

"I say you just walk up to her and kiss her. Full on. In front of everyone. Then you can see what her problem is" Sirius suggested unhelpfully. James snorted and began to walk faster towards the castle to get his things.

* * *

"How'd it go with you?" Remus asked as Marlene and Sirius appeared in the common room. They both shook their heads and looked at the floor. Remus sighed. "Same. She's refusing to talk to him unless he talks to her first"

"Same on his side" Marlene told him.

"I guess plan B then" Sirius said. "Where is Lily anyway?"

"I told her I'd meet in the Prefects Carriage. I figured we would have to resort to this"

"Is there anything you don't know Mooney?"

"Yes. I don't know how they got themselves into this mess in the first place"

* * *

"Look, I just need to get something from the Prefects Carriage and then we'll join the others" Remus told James. He knew James would come with him because it was James.

"Ok" James replied. He had hardly said anything since Remus had found him on the way to Hogsmede Station. Not that that was a long time ago given that the train had only just left, but when you combined James and the idea of Christmas, you could barely shut him up.

Remus pushed open the compartment and walked inside, knowing full well that James would follow him in. He only had to hope that he wouldn't see Lily until he was already inside.

"So what is it that you need?" James asked, staring out the window and standing with his arms folded, completely oblivious to almost everything.

Lily froze when he heard James' voice. Bugger. She was currently hidden by one of the chairs so she could hardly make a run for it. Where was Remus when you needed him?

"Just a book. I'm sure I'll find it soon enough" was the reply. That little traitor! Lily thought angrily, as things began to click into place. Remus asking to meet in the prefect's carriage where there were no prefects, then showing up with James.

She jumped up "don't let him shut the door!" she cried. James whipped round, startled by her appearance for a few seconds before he glared at her.

"Bugger off, Evans" he said and turned back to where Remus had been standing. Except Remus was now the other side of the door and pulling it shut. They both witnessed him taking out his wand and locking the door.

"I've charmed it so only I can unlock this door" he called through the glass.

Lily stormed over to the door and banged her fist on it "YOU OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW, OR SO HELP ME MERLIN I WILL KICK YOUR ARSE, REMUS LUPIN!" she yelled.

"UNLOCK IT, YOU DICK!" James yelled, kicking the door. He was really not in the mood for being locked in a room with Lily, let alone it being a set up by his friends.

"It's for your own good. I'll be back at two" Remus called back and the two of them continued pounding on the door until he was out of sight.

James gave the door a final punch, turned to lean on the wall and slid down to the floor.

"Why don't you just stop? He's not coming back and we're not going to be able to unlock it" he said to Lily with a sigh.

"Why did you let him close the door?" she bit back at him, but she did stop the hitting and followed suit to sit on the floor. James couldn't think of a reply and so the two of them fell into an angry silence. "Idiot" she muttered under her breath but it was still loud enough for James to hear.

"What?" he hissed at her.

"You let him shut the door!"

"Pfft, hardly! It's not like I said 'dear Remus, please lock me in this room with the utter delight that is Lily Evans'. You know I probably would have wished for that at one point" he said with a roll of his eyes.

"If you like me so much then why the hell did you kiss me?" Lily said her voice louder than she meant it to be.

"For the last time: you kissed me first!"

"That's your excuse? That's your great come back? I kissed you first? YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO KISS ME BACK!"

"BUT I WANTED TO!" James yelled. Then he buried his face in his hands. "Merlin, Lily, why are we even fighting? About why we kissed? I think we have our answer"

"Because we wanted to" Lily said softly after a moments thought. Then she laughed. "And look where it's got us. One kiss and a year of friendship goes down the drain and we're back to fighting all the time. It wasn't even half a day!" she said in disbelief, apparently having forgotten the fact she was mad at James. The problem was whenever she looked into his eyes her ability to be mad at him just melted away and guess where she was looking at the moment? Those damn eyes of his.

James laughed once. "Well there we have it; the way to ruin a friendship in less than eight hours" he said almost in a bitter tone.

"Or maybe this was just the universes way of telling us we wouldn't work in a relationship; that we are better off as friends" Lily said looking down at her hands. She didn't want to look at James; she didn't want to see his reaction- she didn't know if she could hold in the tears. Merlin she was never this emotional.

"Maybe it just isn't worth the risk" James said quietly. _Say it is_ he silently prayed. _Say it's worth it, please._

Lily didn't know what to say to this. What did he want her to say? Was that what he thought? That she wasn't worth the risk. The silence was demanding an answer from her. She looked up and saw that James was looking at her. He looked like he was silently pleading with her, pleading for an answer.

"I guess not" she whispered.

_What's that, you ask_ James thought, _oh nothing, just the sound of my heart breaking._

* * *

"I have to ask, James" Lily said. The two of them were now sitting on the chairs in the carriage and were playing exploding snap having found a packet on the bookshelf. "Who was she?"

"Who was who?" James asked, concentrating on the game.

"The girl. The girl you kissed. Please, I just have to know"

"I kissed her cheek, it's not the same thing" James said, finally taking his eyes off the cards on the table as it was Lily's turn. Lily said nothing but just looked expectantly at him for an answer. "I'm surprised you didn't recognise her. Her names Dorcas Meadowes, fifth year, seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team" James paused as recognition flashed across Lily's features. "She's an old family friend. Our mum's were best friends when they were at Hogwarts so we've sort of grown up together, I suppose"

"Oh" was all Lily could say, inwardly cringing thinking about her reaction that morning.

"She taught me to dance when my parents insisted on having a party- I'd managed to avoid the dancing lessons before then. If it helps now I can dance pretty well. It's nice to have a friend who can save you from family events…well, help you take care of Sirius anyway" James said with a small smile.

"Do you have family parties often?" Lily asked

"About once a year, normally over the summer. They're the most boring things I've ever been to"

"More boring than the Slug Club parties?"

"Is it bad if I say yes?" James said, his smile growing as the two of them eased back into comfortable conversation that they had grown used to over the past year. "But hey, you're welcome to an invitation to the next one. Maybe I could show off my smooth moves"

"Well how could I even think about saying no to that one!" Lily replied, then "so she's not your girlfriend?"

"If she is I know nothing about it and I doubt her boyfriend of two years would be too thrilled about it either" James said, a familiar smirk finding its way onto his lips. He was about to ask her just why she cared so much when they heard a cough. Neither of them had realised how intently they were staring at each other and practically jumped out of their skin at the noise.

"Not interrupting anything am I?" Marlene asked looking from Lily to James and back to Lily with raised eyebrows.

"If exploding snap counts as anything then yes" James replied swiftly while Lily frowned.

"How did you get in here?" Lily asked her best friend.

"Through the door" Marlene scoffed.

"How? Remus said he charmed it so only he could unlock it"

"Obviously he was lying…well unless I am actually Remus in disguise. I hope I'm not though; I don't think I could handle being a bloke"

"So you are telling us" James said pointing at both himself and Lily "that you just used _alohamora_ to open the door"

"Yeees" Marlene said slowly "are you telling me that the Head Girl and Boy of Hogwarts and arguably the two smartest people in the year were locked in a room and neither of you thought to try that spell?"

Deciding not to answer that one Lily stood up and walked towards the door.

"Time to go. I'm starving. Has the lunch cart been?"

"Ooh!" James said, standing up and following Lily out the compartment "I really want a Pumpkin Pasty" Lily laughed and Marlene stared after the two of them for a second in utter disbelief at their regression back to easy friendship.

* * *

"Hold on, let me get this straight. After a passionate make out session last night, the two of you have decided to just be friends" Marlene asked as her and Lily queued for the Lunch Trolley. They had taken orders from the Marauders who were too lazy to get their own food.

"Pretty much. It was a very adult conversation once we got past the yelling" Lily said, trying to sound happier about the decision they had come to than she actually was.

"I can't believe it" Marlene said. James wouldn't just give up on Lily after chasing her for so long. "And you're actually OK with that?"

"It doesn't matter if I'm OK with it" Lily said with a sigh. "James said it wasn't worth the risk of ruining our friendship. You can't have a relationship with someone who doesn't want one"

"Ahha!" Marlene exclaimed, almost gleefully. "You so want a relationship with him!"

"I do not!"

"You so do! You're not OK with the agreement. You want James Potter. You want to be his girlfriend" she taunted Lily childishly.

"Will you shut up" Lily pleaded, given the amount of people in the queue. Christmas holidays or not, gossip would travel fast. Lily placed their order with the Lunch Lady and was given a large amount of food as Marlene handed over the money before they started the walk back to the compartment. Thankfully it wasn't a long walk.

"I'll just say one thing. James was lying" Marlene said opening the door to the compartment and walking through.

"Wait, what?" Lily hissed but Marlene had already sat down.

The Marauders looked up and cheered as they saw the food in Lily's arms.

"Alright, Lilyflower?" Sirius asked, making a grab for some cauldron cakes.

"Not so sure after seeing your face, Sirius" Lily replied. "Oi, stop hogging the cakes" and she swiped one out of his hand.

* * *

James watched Lily as she was reading. It was her favourite book- he could tell by the well worn spine (and the amount of times he had seen it lying around their common room). Occasionally she would look up and make a comment or laugh at something the others had said, clearly keeping up with the conversation. Why did he have to say that maybe it wasn't worth the risk? It was. It really was. So they had an argument; people fought all the time. Look how quickly they had become friends again once they actually started to talk. Worst of all, why did she have to agree him? He tried to smile and follow the conversation but it wasn't fooling anyone.

Lily looked up from her book and caught James staring at her. She smiled at him and he tried to return it but it must have looked a little feeble.

"You alright?" she mouthed so no one would notice this secret exchange.

"'course" he mouthed back and picked up an Every Flavour Been, tossing it into the air and catching it in his mouth. Lily's smile grew at this little party trick and went back to her book.

Lily couldn't concentrate on her book. Never mind the fact that she still loved Pride and Prejudice; it just wasn't drawing her into it like normal. She had been on the same two pages since she had opened it, not taking any of it in. Occasionally she would sneak glances at James when she thought he wasn't looking. What had Marlene meant when she said James was lying? Lying about what? Why did she have to be cryptic now? Couldn't she have just told her? Why did she have to have such complicated friends?

She tried to distract her mind from figuring out Marlene's cryptic clue by attempting to read once more. Her eyes were drawn to a passage on the page:

'_In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you'_

Lily almost laughed at the words and how right Mr Darcy was. It was a strange thought when you realised that someone who had lived more than a century before you could put your feelings so perfectly. Was Lily in love with James? Honestly? No. No she wasn't. But she would be. She could tell that this boy sitting in front of her, with the glasses and the messy hair and the glazed look on his face as he stared out the window, this boy would be the love of her life. It wasn't a sudden realisation and Merlin knows how she came to conclude it, but she knew in her heart that it was true. She would end up falling for this boy and falling hard; requited or unrequited. Hell, she was already half way there. She could remember how much she had fought the idea that she might have feelings for James and that was why the quote stuck out to her. It was towards the end of last year and she hadn't wanted them at all. She refused to admit that she could like the boy who she had sworn she would always pick the Giant Squid over him. So she had denied them, it was as simple as that. But James being James, the second he flashed that smile at her he opened the flood gates and she was a goner all over again. As Mr Darcy said, '_my feelings will not be repressed'_; she was falling in love with James. He had said that it wasn't worth the risk of ruining their friendship. But what if it was? What if it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to them? Look what happened to Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Benet? She hated him at first and look where it got them- their love became one of the greatest stories of all time. Lily and James might not have the kind of love that would become a legend, but she had felt a spark of it last night and she knew that he had. And that spark would grow into a flame. Their love would be real and pure and that was enough for her. Why had she agreed with him? It was worth the risk. Quite simply it was. She wished she could go back in time and change what she said. She would challenge him. Tell him that she wanted this. That she wanted him.

James saw Lily watching him, an almost awe like expression on her face. He had seen that look before. When she realised where she had been going wrong on a spell, or an essay, or when she became determined to do something. But no, he had seen that look more recently. He had seen it last night, right before she kissed him. James smiled at her.

"Almost home" he said

"What?" Lily said, snapping out of her thoughts.

"I said we're almost home. Nearly back in London" and he gestured to the window. The familiar landscape showed that they were about twenty minutes from Kings Cross.

"James, I-" Lily started to say.

"Hey Prongs!" Sirius interrupted, sounding a little sleepy still "want to help wake up Mooney and Wormtail?"

"What did you have in mind?" James asked, reluctantly tearing his gaze away from Lily and realising that a few moments ago he and Lily had been the only two awake. While James and Sirius set about thinking up nasty ways to wake up their friends, Lily calmly shook awake Marlene and the two girls set about clearing up the mess in their compartment.

* * *

The train pulled into the station too quickly, Lily's resolve to talk to James alone growing by the second, her confidence building. James helped get Lily's trunk from the train and onto the platform before pulling her into a hug.

"You'd better write to me" he told her "I need someone to keep me sane" and then he released her to hug Marlene.

"You alright?" Remus asked as he too, hugged her. "You look a little anxious"

"I'm fine. It's nothing" she said hugging him back

"She just doesn't want to say goodbye to me" Sirius said "Don't worry Lilyflower, it's only for three weeks"

"I just don't know how I will survive" Lily replied sarcastically before pulling him into a hug. "I guess I will see you four in a few weeks then" she said once all the hugs had been exchanged and Marlene had gone to find her little brother.

"Miss Evans" said James, giving her a flourishing bow and a smirk "I wish you a very Merry Christmas"

"Why Mr Potter" Lily replied with a curtsey, "I wish you the very same"

"Later!" Sirius called, having spotted James' parents. James laughed and turned around, heading in the same direction as Sirius.

"You know, I don't think I will ever understand that pair" Remus said, laughing and shaking his head. But Lily wasn't listening. She was watching James become lost in the crowd of students excited to see their families again after a term. She wouldn't be seeing him for three weeks. Three weeks without that smile or the way he made her feel when he looked at her. Three whole weeks. She didn't think she could do that. Not without him knowing.

"James!" she called but her voice got lost over the crowd. "JAMES! POTTER! POTTER!" she yelled starting to walk after him. "OI POTTER!" she tried again and this time he heard.

Confused James turned around to see Lily walking towards him with a look of utter determination on her face and a very confused Remus standing with her trunk.

"What's wrong?" he called out to her but she didn't answer. She stopped about a meter away from him.

"I couldn't let you leave, I just had to tell you" she said and she took a deep breath and two steps towards him. "I lied and I think so did you" she said.

"What are you on about?" James asked frowning.

"It is worth the risk" Lily told him confidently, meeting his gaze. James was in shock. He thought this was a dream, it had to be. It had been what he had been thinking about for the entire train journey. "Well, say something" Lily said, starting to look a little nervous.

The corners of James' lips started to twitch upwards into a smile and in a single bound he closed the remaining gap between and kissed her. Right there, on the platform, in front of everyone. Lily put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her and James placed his hands on her waist. They could hear Sirius wolf whistling and leading others around them in a round of applause.

"Now you have to write to me" James whispered when they finally broke apart, their foreheads resting together, both looking a little flushed.

"I was thinking I would just come and visit you but if you only want a letter" and she shrugged, a smirk growing on her lips.

"No, no. I like your way better" and he kissed her again, softer than before.

"OI PRONGS! NOT THAT I'M NOT HAPPY OR ANYTHING, BUT WE'VE GOT TO GO AND YOU'RE PARENTS ARE TOO POLITE TO INTERRUPT THIS TOUCHING MOMENT!" Sirius yelled at them. James heard his parents tell Sirius off but he knew they were right. Lily cringed but was still able to glare at Sirius for ruining the moment.

"I just made out with you in front of your parents" she muttered. "What a way to meet them"

"They'll love you when they meet you properly" James said and Lily wriggled out of his arms.

"Sirius was right, you have to go. Mr Potter" she said, holding out her hand

"Miss Evans" James said, taking Lily's hand and shaking it as the two of them laughed. Lily turned to leave first heading towards the barrier as James stood with his parents.

"Oh and James" Lily called to him just before she left the platform. "Kick Sirius' arse, will you?" and the last thing Lily heard before stepping through the gateway was James answering laugh.


End file.
